My interest was renewed in the topic of oil in Israel after listening
to the linked interview by Jan Markell with John Brown and Steve Spillman
on
Understanding The Times Radio.

Genesis 49:25Even by the God
of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless
thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings
of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of
the womb:

Isaiah 45:3,4And
I will give thee the treasures of darkness,
and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest
know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God
of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect,
I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou
hast not known me.

So is this treasure of darkness and hidden riches of secret places oil
in Israel? It appears that it may be. Oil has been found in Israel, which
could change the whole scope of things. Joel Rosenburg, author of The
Ezekiel Option, writes in his story about Israel discovering oil which
causes the economy to blossom.

I recently received the following study by Terry Hart that I would like
to share. View the original version:

Confirmation of James Spillman’s oil in Israel thesis in the
anatomy of Psalm 108

Before delving deep into Psalm 108, I should say a little about interpreting
Bible prophecy in general. Also, I recommend reading the Spillmans’ “Breaking
the Treasure Code” booki as a way
to better understand this topic. (See my endnotes for a brief summary
and the key Scriptures used in their bookii.)
I’m convinced that most Bible scholars are missing the key ingredient
for the most accurate interpretation of predictive prophecy, which is
a strong faith that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think”.iii In
reference to the last book of prophecy, it has been well said that “The
book of Revelation is not hard to understand. It’s just hard to
believe. If you will believe it, you will understand it.”iv
Secondly, although this strength of faith is necessary, it is not normally
by itself, sufficient; God delights in rewarding diligent effortv.
A thorough knowledge of the entire Bible that comes through countless
hours of study is also a great help in understanding unfulfilled prophecy
in Scripture. The complexity of eschatological passages that remain
unfulfilled seems to make this area of theology even more dependent
on a deep understanding of the wider context outside of the chapter
or book of the Bible being studied.

Thirdly, the common and usually accurate saying about theology of “If
it’s new, it’s probably not true.” is not so true
in eschatology. A prophetic utterance in Jeremiah 23:20 states “in
the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.”vi
Also, near the end of the book of Daniel he was told that “the
words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end”vii
in answer to his preceding question of “my Lord, what [shall be]
the end of these [things]?”.viii
So, this implies that the revelation to Daniel would be understood near
the end of this age. I believe that things like the miraculous re-birth
of the nation of Israelix, technological
advancesx, and recent national alliancesxi,
all add to our understanding of “the outcome of these events”.
However, we should be careful to keep searching the Scriptures rather
than leaning too much on our fallible understanding of changeable current
events.

I’ve read and listened through the Bible many times, but the
last time listening through the Psalms I noticed something new. I was
starting to notice that many more of these Psalms are prophetic, than
I had previously realized; I mean here (and in this entire paper) prophetic
in the sense of foretelling the future. With this in my mind, I noticed
something in Psalm 108:7-9 that made me slow down and take a closer
look. In the past I probably figured that these verses were just another
generic reference to the oft repeated truth that the land in and around
modern-day Israel is unconditionally promised by God to be the everlasting
possession ofAbraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants.xii

The Jews are called God’s inheritance, and their land is His
landxiii, so the repeated references
to this land as God’s special possession in Psalm 108:7-9 don’t
seem too unusual, although repetition in Scripture always seems to highlight
especially important truths. This may be another reason why this passage
stood out; it is repeated almost word for word in Psalm 60:6-8. The
only discrepancy is the final phrase “Over Philistia I
will triumph”, and these look like the most important
words in this Psalm because they fit so perfectly with the prophetic
geographic anatomyxiv
explained by James Spillman.

Spillman shows that the “head” of Joseph is outlined
by the tribal lands of the two sons of Joseph (see the outline of Ephraim
and West Manasseh). He argues that the crown (top) of Joseph’s
head will be anointed with oil (petroleum) in the last days. Genesis
49:1, 25-26 foretells that “which shall befall you in the last
days” are “blessings of the deep that lieth under”
that “shall be on the head of…and on the crown” of Joseph.
You can see on this map what very much looks like the profile of his
head with a kingly crown on top, which faces toward the Great (Mediterranean)
Sea. I contend that the “mouth” of Joseph (on the Western
border of Ephraim) is perfectly positioned to shout in “triumph”
over Philistia, which stretches along the coastline from North of Ashdod
to South of Gaza. This word “triumph” in Psalm 108:9 most
likely means to “shout a war-cry” or to “shout in
triumph” over enemies.

Not surprisingly, the two sons of “him that was separate from
his brethren”xv are the center of
attention here, just as they are in Spillman’s book. They are
the central tribes geographically, they pinpoint the location of the
oil, and they are the anchor about which the geographic anatomy clues
revolve.

So, if you’re thinking critically, as you should, and as I
was, then you might ask: Couldn’t this shout of “triumph”
over Philistia that follows a verse about the sons of Joseph, just be
coincidental? Why should we think they’re connected with Spillman’s
interpretation of several other verses that supposedly point to a major
oil discovery in Israel near the end of this age? And weren’t
some of his interpretations quite a stretch to believe? I agree
that the interpretations of some of the verses in his book are not very
certain. However, taken as a whole, his thesis seems quite convincing,
especially in light of the many geopolitical changes since the first
edition of his book nearly three decades ago.

Also, besides the clear support that I contend is in Psalm 108, there
is other tangential Biblical support for his theory that he did not
mention. He did mention that a major oil discovery could explain the “great
spoil”xvi that will someday soon
entice Russia, Iran, and their allies to attack Israel. He did
not mention that this oil could also be the trigger for the
preceding
war foretold in Psalm 83. Isaiah 17:14 speaks of a multitude of
nations that come to “spoil” and “rob” Israel,
and although I have not heard this from any other Bible teacher, Isaiah
17:12-14 seems like an obvious description of the same war detailed
in Psalm 83.xvii Also, it is likely that
a fight for oil could be a strong motive for the following and final
world war on the plain of Megiddoxviii
(which is on the “crown” of Joseph’s head!!—see map
above). There are many reasons to believe that Megiddo is ground zero
for this enormous oil find, but I will list just three neglected ones
here:

The geographic center point of the Scriptures that detail
the location of the oil is within a few miles of Megiddo. (The border
of Zebulun and Issachar meets the crown of Joseph very near Megiddo.

Also, the “foot” of Asher who dips “his
foot in oil” is very nearbyxxi.)
Do you think that maybe the soon to be discovered “precious fruit”
on the crown of Joseph’s head might then be “declaring a
message”? Truly, it takes more faith to believe all of this is
just coincidence, than to believe that God is able to orchestrate history.xxii
In fact, it looks like this idea of wars for Israel’s oil is being
foreshadowed by the massive discovery of natural gas by Nobel Energy
off the N. coast of Israel in January 2009, since there is now increased
animosity between Israel and Lebanon to the North because of this valuable
discovery.

I believe that there is some evidence in Psalm 108 that indeed oil
is the likely catalyst for the soon coming Psalm 83 war. The primary
reasons are that Psalm 108 has many of the prophetic geographic anatomy
clues explained by James Spillman, and this Psalm seems to be yet another
description of the Psalm 83 war.

Interestingly, it looks like the three wars against Israel on the
horizon (beginning as soon as weeks, or probably at most a decade awayxxiii)
are each successively bigger along with drawing in more nations from
further away. Also, it looks like God’s intervention on behalf
of Israel becomes increasingly more obvious with each of these three
wars. We know that there are strong non-material motives for the coming
attacks on Israel, but greed is clearly a motive in the first two wars
(see Ezekiel 38:12-13, Psalm 83:12, Isaiah 17:14), and as of right now,
Israel is poorer than many of these currently oil rich nations that
will come to “take to ourselves the houses of God in possession”
(Psalm 83:12) and capture “great spoil” (Ezekiel 38:12-13).

The motive of greed is also implied by the mention of the “envy”
of Edom in Ezekiel 35:11, and Ezekiel 35-36 looks like a close parallel
to the Psalm 83 war. One reason is that both passages mention the judging
of Edom due to their behavior toward Israel. Another reason is that
Psalm
83 occurs not long before the Ezekiel 38-39 war, and I believe that
all the chapters from Ezekiel 33 to Ezekiel 48 are largely chronologically
ordered prophecy to be fulfilled at the end of this age.xxiv
Lastly, and most clearly, the theme and purpose of God is the same in
Psalm 83, Ezekiel 35, and Ezekiel 36. Something similar to the declaration
of “they shall know that I [am] the LORD”xxv
repeats throughout these chapters, and amazingly it is in the last verse
of all three chapters.

So, other than oil being a good explanation for greed inspired wars,
and the shout in “triumph” over Philistia phrase that fits
nicely with Spillman’s geographic clues, what other evidence might
there be in Psalm 108 for a last days oil discovery in Israel? I can
see four more reasons why Psalm 108 either ties in with Spillman’s
argument or points to the time when Israel’s fortunes will be
restored leading up to and during the soon coming wars against Israel.

Starting with Ephraim and Manasseh as the “head”
(vs. 8), all other anatomical references in Psalm 108 are in their
appropriate places (refer again to the map on page 2). The other
anatomical clues are :

“Moab…my washbowl” is about where you would
expect Joseph’s “hands” to be, and is bordered
by the “washbowl” water of the Dead Sea.

“Over Edom I shall throw my shoe”—Edom is the
most Southerly part of the Promised Landxxvi,
so it makes sense as the place for the lowest part of the anatomy
(the shoe or foot).

“Over Philistia I will triumph”—again, the “mouth”
of Joseph (on the Western border of Ephraim) is perfectly positioned
to shout a war-cry of “triumph” over Philistia.

“Judah [is] my lawgiver”--Other than Deuteronomy
33, I believe the most important Scriptures in Spillman’s
book are in Genesis 49 where Jacob blesses his 12 sons and foretells
what will befall them “in the last days”.xxvii
Other than in Psalm 108 and the parallel passage in Psalm 60,
there exists only one other reference to Judah as a lawgiver,
and that is in this Genesis 49 blessing! Genesis 49:10- “The
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
his feet”. The sceptre here is parallel and synonymous
with “lawgiver” which is the tool of the ruler physically
resting between his feet. On the map above, you can see that
Judah is appropriately centered where the “chest”
of Joseph would be. If the king sits on a throne and has a long
sceptre (lawgiver) between his feet, then the top of the sceptre
would be centered in front of his chest.

The phrase “God hath spoken in his holiness” is
unique to this Psalm (vs. 7) and Psalm 60. There is only one similar
phrase in the Bible and that is “Once have I sworn by my holiness”,
and this occurs just twice. The first instance is in Psalm 89:35.
This entire 52 verse Psalm is about God’s covenant with David;
that his seed and his throne would endure forever. The fulfillment
of this promise awaits the return of the king, David’s son
(seed), who “shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion:
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.”xxviii
I think it will become clearer in the words that follow, that Psalm
108 refers to the time of the restoration of Israel at the end of
this age that begins to foreshadow the fulfillment of the promise
of Psalm 89. The one other instance of God swearing by His holiness
is in Amos 4:2, which is about God judging His enemies.

Psalm 108:9-13 closely parallels Psalm 83, which foretells the
coming war on Israel that is at least partly motivated by greed
for Israel’s “spoil”.xxix
The three territories in vs. 9 of Moab, Edom, and Philistia are
prominently listed amongst the allies in Psalm 83, as they are in
Psalm 108. Also, assuming the prayers for the defeat of these enemies
in Psalm 83 are answered positively, then this could result in the
fulfillment of God’s declaration of His ownership of these
territories in Psalm 108, as Israel moves in to control the territory
of attacking enemies, like they have done in recent history. So,
just as in the following war against the Russian army and allies,
it may be said that Israel “shall spoil those that spoiled
them” (Ezekiel 39:10) and become the “greater Israel”
that
Bill Salus speaks of. I believe the world will soon witness
the rapid rise of Israel to superpower status, both economically
and militarily. In fact, the notion of a suddenly powerful and prosperous
Israel that is at least temporarily secure is found in Deuteronomy
33, which is the other passage loaded with clues foretelling oil
in Israel.xxxAdditionally, Psalm
108:11-13 lists declarations and requests to God for victory in
battle, much like we see in Psalm 83:9-16.

The Psalm that is almost identical to Psalm 108 (other than
the first few verses), Psalm 60, is in those few verses loaded with
language that the prophets use for the end of this age judgment
and restoration. Compare Psalm 60:1 to Hosea 6:1-2, and Psalm 60:2-3
to Isaiah 24:19-23.

The idea that there will soon be too little oil to meet world demand
is a hotly debated topic, but even if it’s true that oil and natural
gas reserves are plentiful, we have much recent experience to prove
that the supply is easily disrupted by wars, embargos, natural disasters,
environmentalism, and intentional restriction of supply by those who
profit from it. In addition to this, it seems like recent wars, as well
as business and political alliances are often motivated by the assumption
that oil will continue to be a valuable and scarce commodity.xxxi
If oil and natural gas are truly abundant as some argue, then obviously
there are forces at work preventing a flood of supply on the market,
and a massive oil discovery in Israel might disrupt that kind of control.
If there is a global conspiracy to limit oil supply, this could be thwarted
by the one nation in the world (Israel) that seems to be increasingly
isolated and immune to the one-world movement.

Many prophecies clearly explain that two centers of economic prosperity
in the last days will be Babylon and Israel. The question is why? As
Joel Rosenberg pointed out at a recent event I attended, the last two
cities mentioned in the Bible and the two centers of world attention
at the end of this age are Jerusalem and Babylon. Many Bible scholars
believe that the headquarters of the Antichrist will be in Babylon,
Iraq. Many believe that the “king of Babylon” (Isaiah 14:4)
is a title for the Antichrist. I believe the Bible details that Babylon,
Iraq will soon be the economic center of the world. It looks like Iraq
will soon be at the geographic center of the world’s oil productionxxxii,
so it makes good sense as a headquarters for the Antichrist and his
forces. However, Daniel 11:45 says that he will also have some kind
of base of operations in Israel, in or near the tribe of Ephraim or
Manasseh, and possibly near Megiddo. Could it be that these two headquarters
are strategically placed for the same reason, to be near the most easily
exploitable and valuable oil reserves in the last days?

The “Breaking the Treasure Code” book by James &
Steven Spillman is by itself enough to convince us of a last days oil
discovery in Israel, and I believe my explanation of Psalm 108 should
make skeptics of this thesis uneasy. Considering both together should
give us great confidence that God will indeed fulfill all of His good
promises to powerfully restore Israel (and the rest of the world), as
well as judge the unrepentant, just as He has said. He will do all of
this, that all may know that He alone is the
Lord.

i “Breaking the Treasure Code”
by James R. Spillman and Steven M. Spillman 2007
ii “Breaking the Treasure Code” key Scriptures
(All Scripture references in this paper are from the KJV): Deuteronomy
33:12-19, 24, 28 / Genesis 49:1, 22, 25-26 / Genesis 27:28, 39 / Ezekiel
38-39 (especially in 38:12-13) / Deuteronomy 32:13 / Some of these verses
by themselves are enough to make one consider the possibility of oil
yet to be discovered in Israel. However, taken as a group they become
especially convincing. Most of these verses appear in just two passages,
so the interpretation of those ones are strengthened by context. Add
to this the fact that the geographical anatomy fits like pieces of a
puzzle, you then have very long odds that this is all coincidental.
For example, the tribes of Joseph’s sons form what looks just
like the profile of a head with a kingly crown on top. Joseph’s
blessing is said to be on the crown of his head. (Genesis 49:26) Asher,
who is to “dip his foot (Southern tip) in oil”, borders
the crown of Joseph’s head. (Deuteronomy 33:24) Also, the other
two tribes blessed with oil (Deuteronomy 33:18-19) are on this crown.
On top of all of this, you have the fact that all of these regions are
close to joining together on or near the plain of Megiddo (see page
3 above for an explanation as to why this is important). Another piece
of the puzzle is Benjamin, who “shall dwell between his shoulders”.
This tribe makes its dwelling exactly between where you would expect
Joseph’s “shoulders” to be.iii
Ephesians 3:20iv Revelation commentary
by Dr. Henry Morrisv Proverbs 2:2-6vi See Jeremiah 30:24 as wellvii Daniel 12:9 / 12:4viii Daniel 12:8ix
Isaiah 66:7-9x Daniel 12:4, Rev 13:16,17xi Ezekiel 38:2-6xii
Genesis 13:14,15 / 15:18 / 35:12xiii
Joel 2:16-18xiv “Every map agrees
with the general geographic location and shape of the tribal boundaries.”--- “Breaking
the Treasure Code” by James R. Spillman and Steven M. Spillman
pg. 71xv Genesis 49:26xvi Ezekiel 38:12-13
xvii In just these 3 verses, Isaiah 17:12-14, there are at
least 13 parallels to Psalm 83. In Isaiah 17:12 compare: a. “Woe”
(warning of judgment) to the entirety of Psalm 83 b. “multitude
of many people” and c. “nations” with Psalm 83:6-8
d. “noise”, occurring twice, is the same Hebrew word as “tumult”
in Psalm 83:2. In Is 17:13 compare: e. “nations” with Psalm
83:6-8 again f. “rebuke” (judgment) to the entirety of Psalm
83 g. “chased” is the same in Hebrew as “persecute”
in Psalm 83:15 h. “chaff” to “stubble” in Psalm
83:13 i. “mountains” also in Psalm 83:14 j. “before
the wind” also in Psalm 83:13 k. “rolling thing” is
the same in Hebrew as “wheel” in Psalm 83:13 l. “whirlwind”
is the same in Hebrew as “storm” in Psalm 83:15. Lastly,
in Is 17:14 “trouble” means calamity or destruction, which
is the theme of Psalm 83.xviii Zechariah
14:1 &
http://bible-prophecy-today.blogspot.com/2009/08/oil-thirsty-red-dragon.htmlxix Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionaryxx Smith’s Bible Dictionary--(place of
crowns) was in a very marked position on the southern rim of the Plain
of Esdraelon, on the frontier line of the territories of the tribes
of Issachar and Manasseh, 6 miles from Mount Carmel and 11 from Nazareth.
It commanded one of those passes from the north into the hill country
which were of such critical importance on various occasions in the history
of Judea.xxi Deuteronomy 33:24xxii Acts 17:26xxiii
Lord willing, in the future I will write much more about the timing
of the return of Jesus. For now, I will just say that like the prophets
of old, I desire very much to be searching for “what manner of
time…the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:10, 11 / Daniel
12:6). Of course nobody can know the exact day or hour Jesus’
return for His church, but the past blunders of date setters do not
mean that we can’t know the season of the Lord’s return.
In fact we are exhorted to be alert to the signs of His coming and “ye,
brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as
a thief.” (1Thessalonians 5 :4)xxiv
I might write more on this sometime in the future.xxv Ezekiel 35:15xxvi
Genesis 15:18xxvii Genesis 49:1xxviii Psalm 110:2xxix Isaiah 17:14xxx
Deuteronomy 33:17--“push the people together, to the ends of the
earth”. In the Hebrew the word “together” can include
the idea of “all at once”, which implies a sudden exertion
of great power. Also, see Deuteronomy 33:28, 29. Vs.28--“Israel
then shall dwell in safety alone”, which may describe that after
(“then”) Israel discovers oil (vss. 13, 15, 19), they will
have a time of peace after the Psalm 83 war. In fact this is a necessary
condition before the Gog invasion (see Ezekiel 38:8). The word “fountain”
in vs. 28, is the same Hebrew word as “well” in Genesis
49:28, which is said to be a part of the blessing of Joseph’s
(Manasseh’s) land “in the last days” Genesis 49:1.
Maybe this is a fountain of oil and not water? Vs. 29—After the Lord
wins the battle of Psalm 83 (“saved by the Lord, the shield of
thy help, and…the sword of thy excellency!”) Israel “shalt
tread upon” their enemies’ “high places”. This
might be the Golan Heights/East Manasseh (Psalm 108:8) and the “mountains
of Israel” in Ezekiel 33-39 (note that these look like mountains
to the North in Ezekiel 39:2).xxxi
http://bible-prophecy-today.blogspot.com/2009/08/oil-thirsty-red-dragon.htmlxxxii
http://bible-prophecy-today.blogspot.com/2009/08/oil-supplies-are-running-out-fast.html

News

Israeli company finds oil beneath Rosh Ha’ayin(December 24, 2009) - An Israeli oil exploration
company on Thursday announced that it had found a huge amount of oil
and gas during drilling below the city of Rosh Ha’ayin this week.
Givot Olam Oil Exploration Limited Partnership said that more than 60
percent gas was measured in the drill, indicating the first such find
in Israel. more...

Ginko, Lapidot discover oil at Dead Sea drilling site(September
19, 2006) - Oil spurted Monday at a depth of about 1,800 meters
during drilling near the Dead Sea. The drilling was planned only to
reach 2,000 meters. Drilling partners, Ginko Oil Exploration and Lapidot
(20 percent) are expected to carry out a series of tests in the coming
days in order to estimate the quantity of oil found in the drilling,
and its value. It should be noted that crude oil, about 120,000
barrels, has already been extracted from this same drilling site in
1995. Drilling was renewed following the rise in oil prices, and as
a first stage in preparation for drilling in Ginko’s licensed
drilling areas in the Dead Sea, particularly in the area of Zerach.
more...

Israeli company discovers oil at drilling site near Dead Sea(October
5, 2006) - An Israeli company has discovered a small amount of
oil at a drilling site near the Dead Sea, raising hopes that the Jewish
state could one day join its regional neighbors as a petroleum producer.
Initial tests have found that the site would yield between 100 to 150
barrels daily, said Eli Tannenbaum, geologist for the Ginko oil exploration
company. While this is minuscule by global standards - No. 1 producer
Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels a day - Tannenbaum said there
are signs that larger amounts of crude are nearby. (AP)

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